by L E Franks
“Thanks, um…” Grady started, realizing that he wasn’t sure how to address a man he’d basically had sex in front of just a few hours before who was now handing him baked goods and talking about the weather. The whole deal was surreal.
The smile was broader than ever from the man. “Call me Carlo, we’re neighbors. You might as well, we’ve already been friendly.” He smirked, retreating back into the kitchen as they left through the deck to walk out onto the beach.
It was a beautiful morning and Grady could see the attraction Kevin’s parents had to this island. The sun was over Kevin’s shoulder and people were filtering down the beach; too bad Grady wasn’t in the mood to enjoy it. A bird squawked and in the distance a dog barked, but all that fell away as Kevin turned and gazed into his eyes.
“I like you, Kevin…” Grady started, pulling his thoughts together as he went. They continued slowly walking along the beach.
“I like you too, Grady,” Kevin interjected with warmth before Grady cut him off.
“Kev, I don’t want to do this anymore...” He lost the next words out of his mouth when Kevin grabbed him sloshing coffee over his hand as he whipped him around until they were face to face. There was shock and pain in Kevin’s eyes that Grady didn’t want to see, so he hurried on, determined to get it over with as soon as possible. It was the Band-Aid theory—rip it off as fast as possible so you can move beyond the pain and start to heal…
“You’re my best friend and I don’t want to lose that; but we want different things and I think last night was a mistake. I think we should go back to just being friends, without the benefits.”
“But…why?” Kevin protested.
Grady spotted an old log away from the rest of the beachgoers. He pulled Kevin along behind him until they reached it.
“Sit.” Dropping onto the log next to Kevin, he stared at his breakfast, pulling the cinnamon rolls apart before taking a bite. They’d be delicious he supposed, if they weren’t tasteless and sticking in his throat. He swallowed the dregs of his coffee and began again.
“I haven’t been honest with you—I guess the truth is I haven’t been honest with myself, either. Deep down I’d always hoped we were more than friends… that maybe this trip we’d… I don’t know what I thought. All I know is that I don’t like what we’ve been doing down here, what I’ve done… and it has to change. I’d never forgive myself if I continued to do things that aren’t me. Do you understand?”
Kevin gripped his knees, leaving white marks from his fingers when he moved his hand, standing up to pace back and forth in front of Grady.
“Honestly? I have no fucking clue! You say you still want to be friends with me, but it sounds like you’re breaking up with me? What the fuck Grady? What did I ever do to you?” By the end he was ranting and waving his hands around. Shit. Grady had completely fucked this up. He tried again.
“I’m not into having sex with strangers. I’m not interested in picking up the next hot guy that walks past me on the beach. I don’t date much back at school, but I have; the one-night stands don’t work for me. And as much as the sex last night was mind blowing, it makes me want to puke.”
“And you think that I do? That I want all those things, including the sex that makes you sick? That’s what you really think of me?!” Grady could see he’d hurt Kevin’s feelings but he was also pissed and showed it.
“Um… yes. I guess. I’ve never seen you in action at Princeton, but you show up in the city and sometimes I feel like you have one eye on me, and the other on the next guy walking down the street. So yeah, kinda. I don’t think that’s bad for you, but it’s bad for me. It hurts me to watch that, so I’m going to say no. No more, Kevin. Let’s just go back to being friends only, so we don’t ruin everything and maybe cool it for a while.”
Kevin stopped pacing, keeping his back to Grady for a few minutes... just staring out across the breakers.
“Kev—” he began.
“Hush Grady. You said your piece.” Kevin turned to him, dropping onto the sand in front of him. He ran his thumb over Grady’s lips, cupping his cheek. He leaned in, his forehead resting against Grady’s.
Grady froze.
“In the middle of all that, did I really hear you say that you were hoping for more from me? Because if I’m wrong, do me the solid and tell me to my face. Tell me now, Grady. Because I do want more. But I’m not going to bare my soul to you if you’re just going to walk away in the end.”
“What?” Grady squeaked out, his throat closing with emotions. His heart stuttered and heat washed over him.
“I can’t stand you being with other guys. I’m sorry I’ve pushed you away. What I did at the club the other night, it was wrong. I don’t want to force you into a relationship, but I need for you to give us a chance—but only if you say the words. Say the words Grady… Just say them.”
The words were pinging around his head, not making sense at first.
“Please Grady.” Kevin grabbed his hands, pressing them to his forehead in supplication.
“Kevin, are you saying you want to have a real relationship? Because, if that’s what you’re asking—”
“It is.”
“What are you asking for exactly, Kevin? I won’t let you break my heart again.”
Kevin reached for Grady, pulling his face close—the kiss he pressed against him was emotional, chaste and a little desperate. Grady tasted him on his lips as he pulled away.
“I think I’ve been in love with you, Grady Pritchard, since you walked into that cafeteria all those years ago. You looked up, and my heart started pounding. I’d never felt anything like it, and all I wanted to do was pull you close and keep you safe. Somehow, someway, a higher power brought you to me and gave me the awareness to recognize you. I had no idea you’d turn out to be the love of my life, but I swear to you Grady, all I want is you. All I’ll ever want is you.”
Grady swallowed, trying to keep his throat from closing with emotions.
Kevin closed his eyes, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “Am I too late? Do you think we could do this?”
Grady leaned forward, wrapping his arms around Kevin’s waist. Their lips brushed together and Kevin gasped, opening his mouth. Grady licked at Kevin’s lips then pulled away, making sure to connect with Kevin’s gaze.
“You’re not too late, Kevin, and if we’re baring souls here—know you’re not alone. I think I’ve loved you since that first kiss. I don’t know how this will work, I just know I only want to be with you.”
Kevin’s lips were on his, his tongue demanding entrance. He opened and their tongues twined together as they held each other close. Happiness washed through Grady. He pulled Kevin onto the log next to him, holding onto his hand.
“I love you, Kevin.”
Kevin smiled, and kissed him breathless, murmuring ‘love yous’ against his lips the whole time.
“Kev?”
“Hmm?”
“What are we doing for the rest of the summer?”
“Mmm, don’t know. Why?” Kevin went back to kissing his neck.
“Can we stay here? Longer? I don’t wanna go back so soon… rather just be with you for a while, before we have to… you know…”
“Yeah, I know.” Kevin sat up and thought for a minute.
“Okay. We’ll stay. No point rushing back.”
“Thanks Kevin, I…” Grady’s last words were lost under Kevin’s lips, but the feeling of contentment remained.
They sat that way, cuddled together on their log looking out to sea, feeding each other pieces of cinnamon rolls and declarations of love.
≈ ≈ ≈ ≈
Carlo stood not far from the beach house, watching Kevin and Grady work out their relationship. He sighed. They were now sitting hand in hand, talking and kissing. It was nice. Despite everything that happened, he liked them both—especially Kevin. A young Joey in the making—God help them all. He shook his head at the thought. Well, they’d be gone soon.
A door ope
ned behind him, and he heard Joey and Ted walk over, handing him an espresso.
“Some party.” Carlo murmured to them, still staring off into the distance. The boys had picked themselves up and were now strolling further down the beach, away from the houses, occasionally tossing pieces of roll to the sea birds.
“Uh, yeah… about that…” Joey began, but Carlo cut him off.
“It’s done. It was bad enough living through that debacle the first time, no desire to relive it. I’m assuming you learned your lesson? Wait, I guess in your case Joey that would be lessons. Many multiples of lessons.” When Carlo finally turned to look at them he could feel the smirk on his face.
Joey jerked his chin towards the couple now snuggling together on some driftwood. “Huh. That didn’t take long.”
“Young love. Doesn’t take long to make it… won’t take long to break it, either.”
“Little cynical there, big guy,” Ted teased, nudging Carlo in the ribs.
Carlo sighed, thankful that he’d gotten over his own puppy love stage long ago. He’d hated that feeling of being alone in an emotional soup of teenage funk. Cringing at his own teen years trailing behind Angelo and the other wolves whenever possible. Looking at the two twinks now, all he could see was a bad song waiting to be written. As much as he liked them separately, together they set his teeth on edge. Turning his attention back to Joey he gazed at his own problem child. It had always been like this—Joey would wander off the reservation and Carlo would have his back, bailing him out of trouble and giving him cover to hide behind when the rest of the pack was out for blood. Funny. Now that he thought about it, Angelo must have had his back as well. All the worst of the punishments seemed to disappear like ice cream on a hot summer’s day. Never quite touching either Carlo or Joey—not like it should have. And then there was Ted. He gazed at the blond wolf.
Ted stood next to a chastened Joey, and worried his bottom lip with his teeth—no smile there.
“Well?” Carlo prompted his friend. He knew that look well.
“You’ll have to work with him you know. And—” Ted stuttered to a halt, dropping his eyes.
“What?! You two used up the month’s worth of my patience yesterday. Spit it out.”
Ted looked up. “I think you’re wrong about him… about Angelo. I think all the things you’ve told me since I’ve known you, don’t fit the picture I see here. I’m concerned that you’re missing something that you normally wouldn’t if you were thinking clearly.”
Ted stared at him in that odd way he had, both submissive and confrontational at the same time. Carlo was too tired to be mad. Frankly he was too tired of being mad. He couldn’t generate the same anger that had become his steadfast companion since he left home. Hmm…even the words had changed. Left home versus banished. So much had changed in forty-eight hours. Sighing he nodded.
“Yes, you’re probably right. I’ll need you both to keep your eyes open. Coming back here may have been a mistake, but I’m here now. I can’t abandon the pack, not without everything settled for them.”
“It’s a very good pack,” Ted piped in. Joey nodded, in agreement.
“They’ve missed you, Carlo. You saw how many people showed last night... we didn’t invite half of them—word started to spread. Jeanette—man, if you try and sneak away again you better hope you can hide from her for the rest of your life.”
Carlo smiled. He had friends here. He had family too, he thought looking at Ted and Joey. He sighed. Maybe just one day off from the drama would be nice.
A flash of sunlight reflecting off glass caught his eye and he noticed a short, middle-aged man in a baseball cap taking pictures of the beach. It had a long-ass lens. Carlo mentally shrugged and turned back to his friends now deep in discussion of all the best parts of last night. Shaking his head he turned his attention to Joey telling a story about a fat orange hellcat.
≈ ≈ ≈ ≈
He adjusted the focus on his telescopic lens, shutter chattering as he took shot after shot of the three men standing on the beach walk outside their house. From the viewfinder, their conversation looked serious. He checked his target, taking another close up shot of his face. Too bad his employer told him to keep at least a hundred feet away at all times, he’d love to walk by and eavesdrop.
It was sheer luck that the house next door to the target had opened up, giving him a direct view into the house from a rooftop deck. He’d been sitting in the dark watching the party last night, taking shots of all the guests coming and going, when the brunet came staggering out with the trash. One minute he was there, the next in his place was a grey wolf. He’d managed to keep his finger on the trigger throughout the whole transformation, though some of the frames were shaky and others just blurred.
He looked around, the beach was still crowded enough to blend in so he adjusted his beach chair, reaching into the cooler for his notepad. Checking the time he wrote down his observations in his log before taking another shot—this time focusing on the younger one.
Oh yes, this one was his bonus. He knew his secret now. Made him wonder if the other men knew they had a werewolf living under their roof. He chuckled darkly. What his employer didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Writing is Sara’s life. The stories fight to get out, often leaving her working on four or five books at once. She can’t help but write. Along with her writing addiction she has a coffee addiction. Some nights, the only reason she stops writing and goes to sleep is for the fresh brewed coffee in the morning.
Sara enjoys writing twisted tales of passion, anger, and love with a good healthy dose of lust thrown in for fun. Almost a quarter of a century ago Sara met her lover, falling for him after knowing him for ten minutes. Sara’s passion for him comes out in her stories, mixing with her passion for life, love, and good times, flowing onto the page and becoming tales from the heart.
≈ ≈ ≈ ≈
LE Franks walked away from writing at 17. Real life and travelling the world seemed fair compensation until the characters in her head demanded their turn. Now, living in the SF Bay Area, surrounded by inspiration everywhere, LE is finally taking off the filters and giving the stories free rein. These days, LE can be found frequently writing about sexy men who desperately need a happily ever.
When not writing, LE wrangles an odd assortment of jobs (six – at last count), houseguests (including pro baseball players), family, and friends. Manifesting an odd combination of contradictory talents and traits, LE is tragically honest and personally deceptive, and makes the best piecrust – ever.
TRADEMARKS ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The author acknowledges the trademark status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:
Arizona Teas: Beverage Marketing USA, Inc
Armani: Giorgio Armani S.P.A.
Audi A3: Audi A.G. Corporation
Band-Aid: Johnson & Johnson
Bushmill’s: The Old Bushmills Distillery Company
Calvin & Hobbes: Universal Press Syndicate
Coke/Cherry Coke: The Coca-Cola Company
Columbia: Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York
Corona: Grupo Modelo S.A.B. DE C.V.
Doritos: Frito-Lay North America, Inc.
Dr. Pepper: Dr. Pepper/Seven Up, Inc.
French’s: Reckitt Benckiser LLC
Garfield: Paws, Incorporated
Gearhead: Gearhead Productions, In
Glenfiddich: William Grant & Sons
Gone With the Wind: Turner Entertainment Co.
Gucci: Gucci Shops, Inc.
iPhone: Apple, Inc.
Land Rover: Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC
McDonald’s: McDonald’s
Minecraft: Notch Developmen
Old Bay: Old Bay, Inc.
Oreos: Kraft Foods Holdings, Inc.
Patron Silver: St. Maarten Spirits, Ltd.
Pepperdine University: Pepperdine University
/> Piggly Wiggly (The Pig): Piggly Wiggly
Ray Bans: Luxottica S.r.l.
Sapporo: Sapporo Holdings
SAT: The College Board
Sea Pines: The Sea Pines Resort
Tastee Freez: Tastee Freez International, Inc.
Times: The New York Times Company
Vineyard Vines: Vineyard Vines